2010 Mock Draft Predictions: Colt McCoy moving up to Round 1.

Well Mr. Locker has certainly got all the mock drafter's scrambling around trying to adjust their 2010 mock drafts to suddenly account for his absence. It is certainly refreshing to see a young man determined to honor his commitment to his university and to completing his education, despite the monetary gains to do otherwise. I for one thought Jake Locker was going to declare for the draft and forego his senior year at Washington, especially with the potential of a rookie salary cap coming into play after the 2010 season.

Of course this now strengthens his position as the 1st overall pick in 2011. His descision to return to school also has a positive effect on some of the draft eligible quarterbacks for 2010. In particular, Colt McCoy who will benefit and move up to the first round in the draft, whereas before I had him going in the second round. I haven't included Ryan Mallett in my calculations as yet, mainly because I think he'll return to Arkansas next year. If he came out this year, my thinking is at best he's a round 2 selection. He'll probably wait till next year to try and get to round 1.

Anyway, here are my adjusted round 1 choices along with my projected round 2 selections. There were a couple of errors that missed a previous edit. In the second round I now have the Jets selecting Jared Odrick form Penn State.

St. Louis needs to start rebuilding around a franchise QB and Clausen is probably the best one available. Ndamukong Suh is also a possibility, but the Rams need a quarterback more. There is also the possibilty of the Rams entertaining trade offers for the number 1 pick, particularily with Oakland as they desperately need a new quarterback.

With Josh Freeman playing better every game, Tampa now needs to look to their defense. Suh is an instant upgrade on the defensive line and will give them the inside presence they’ve missed since Warren Sapp. Even if Tampa ends up with the number 1 draft choice, I still see them now drafting Suh.

Kansas City has invested $66 million in Matt Cassel, so they’d better start trying to keep his butt off the turf. With Russell Okung off the board, they have to settle for the best offensive lineman to come out of Iowa in a while, which is saying something. Bulaga is a natural choice to replace Brandon Albert.

6. Washington Redskins—Sam Bradford, Quarterback, Oklahoma

This pick will depend on how Bradford’s shoulder rehabs after surgery again. If he is fit and healthy, Bradford is one of the most accurate passers out there,and will bring a lot of poise to the Washington backfield.

I originally had the Bills drafting Jake Locker here, but as he’s decided to return to Washington for his senior year, the Bills will choose an impact player for their defense. McCoy will bring back some of the nastiness missing from the Bills defense next year.

8. Oakland Raiders—Colt McCoy, Quarterback Texas

After watching the Oakland Raiders basically implode as soon as JaMarcus Russell took over as quarterback on Sunday, Al Davis needs to get a quarterback the team can respect. The Raiders players have no respect for Russell. He’s useless as football player and one of the biggest busts as a number one draft choice in recent history.

Unless something happens to turn this young man’s attitude of “it’s everyone’s fault but mine”, he’ll never play again. It’s one thing to be a whiner and back it up with your performance on the field, it’s quite another when you have no grasp of how the game should be played and how to conduct yourself with your teammates and the media.

The biggest favor Al Davis can do him is to ship him out to a team with a veteran QB who can teach Russell how to be a quarterback. I have never been sold on Colt McCoy's arm strength and the system he's used to in college, doesn't translate well in the pro's. That being said, Colt is a smart young man and while he doesn’t have the physical gifts of JaMarcus Russell, he is going to be an improvement.

Joe Haden is easily the best cornerback in this year’s draft and probably the only one worthy of using a first round pick on. Nate Clements is moving to free safety, so San Francisco could really use a shutdown corner like Joe Haden.

This may seem like a stretch here, but Charles Brown is one of the top offensive tackles in the country and is a perfect fit for the Seahawks. Bruce Campbell from Maryland is another possibility, but with his past health issues, I think many teams will shy away from him until late in round one or early round two.

12. San Francisco 49ers—Trent Williams, Offensive Tackle Oklahoma

The 49ers have a huge need at right tackle and that’s where most prognosticators are saying Trent Williams is best suited. Although he’s been a little inconsistent this year, he still projected to be an excellent right tackle at the pro level. They could also trade one of these two picks for a first in 2011, or trade Nate Clements for a second or third round choice. Taylor Mays could also be a possibility.

The Texans' greatest needs are on the interior of the offensive and defensive lines and in the secondary, the top prospect available who qualifies is Earl Thomas. Most mocks I’ve seen have Houston taking Taylor Mays here, but he’s not great in coverage and is probably better suited to play strong safety or outside linebacker at the pro level.

Thomas and Bernard Pollard would make a great duo at safety.

14. Tennessee Titans—Donovan Warren, Cornerback, Michigan

Derrick Morgan from Georgia Tech is also a possibility here as well as Donovan Warren as the Titans have a number of possible Defensive Ends coming up for Free Agency, including Kyle Vanden Bosch. Warren though is desparately needed to replace Nick Harper .

Troy Polamalu is injured often and when he is out, the Steelers are terrible. This shows how important one guy can be. Taylor Mays has the same mentality as Polamalu and is bigger and hits harder. Not good for Steelers opponents next year.

Atlanta needs help getting to opposing QB’s. Greg Hardy is probably the top rated DE in this draft, though he’s best suited to teams using a 4-3 defense. There will be some out there who say Derrick Morgan from Georgia Tech or Brandon Graham from Michigan could be selected here and they’d be right. Everson Griffen from USC is also climbing up the boards as well. Any of these players is going to improve an anemic pass rush.

Brandon Jacobs' decline is alarming, and Ahmad Bradshaw will be a free agent following the 2010 season. Running back is definitely not a present need, but how can you pass up on such an incredible home-run threat?

Aside from Ndamukong Suh being taken No. 1, this is probably the only real lock in this draft. The Jags need a player who can draw fans to the seats and Tebow can do that. The question is, where do they play him? As a quarterback Tebow has some fundamental faults with his footwork and throwing motion, besides playing almost exclusively out of the option in college.

New Englands defense has been horrible this year, particularily in pass rush and pass coverage. Good God, they could even get in the face of Chad Henne. Jerry Hughes is having a great year for TCU and is an excellent choice at No. 22.

Green Bay needs to fix their O-line in a hurry! Aaron Rogers probably gets hit more often in a game than any other quarterback. Anthony Davis is a solid choice here. Cornerback is another area they may address here. Al Harris is turning 35 and coming off knee surgery, they could take Brandon Ghee from Wake Forest.

Aside from Miles Austin, no Cowboy receiver has really turned any heads this year. Golden Tate is not very big, but is amazingly fast. A former running back, he’s very elusive and has some potential in returning kick-offs and punts.

For some unknown reason, Andy Reid likes to draft linemen in round one. Well I don’t foresee him deviating from that pattern here. Mike Iupati is a bulldozer at the guard position and is well suited to the Eagles O-Line.

I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense to have Seattle drafting a running back when they have Justin Forsett and Julius Jones already but,this may just simply be a question of not drafting for a position, but taking the best player available. Derrick Morgan could go here as well.

There are some who will say the Cards should take tight end Jermaine Gresham, but I think that his injury situation this year will make teams wait until the combine. If he shows that everything healed up and he can play at his former level, then yes draft him. Until then, I have Arizona taking a good defensive end here.

Cincinnati needs to get someone other than Chad Ochocinco (or whatever the hell he’s calling himself these days ) for Carson Palmer to throw to. Brandon LaFell is on of the best WR’s available this year and is another big target for Palmer.

If the Chargers can grab Terrence Cody here, they’ll take him in a heart beat. Cody has slipped a little in the draft rankings, but is still a physical monster and is suprisingly athletic for a 6’5” 360 lbs behemoth. Imagine the San Diego starting both him and 6”3” 317 lbs DE Vaughn Martin next year; ugly for AFC opponents.

This pick might get me in some trouble, but I think he’s a great fit for the Colts. Gerhard is a punishing runner and is very quick at 240+ lbs and can easily transition to a full-back role and has very good hands as a pass catcher. Gerhard will basically do anything for his team, including special teams or learning a new position whatever.